Any person aged sixteen or over may start using a new name without any requirement for documentary evidence. This is known as "Change of Name by Usage". However, in order to prove to the appropriate offices and organisations that you have changed your name, a Deed Poll is required and, to obtain this, you must be aged eighteen or over. If you want to change your child's name by either of these methods then the written consent of both of the child's parents will be required. All of your children's name changes may be included on the same Deed Poll, or added to the parent's Deed Poll, if so desired. The Deed Polls that we produce have each child listed on their own form for added convenience. If you are divorced, and have custody of your children but are unable to get written consent from the other parent, then you will need to get a court order judgement. You may only change the names of your children if they are under eighteen years of age, and if they are sixteen or seventeen, they will also have to agree to the change. Consent If you are divorced, or if you were not married and the other parent has previously been granted "Parental Responsibility" (through a Court Order or Agreement) then to be able to change your child's name you will need the consent of the other parent. For this reason, when requesting a change of name for your child(ren) you must send us a letter of consent, in order to confirm i writing that all parties who have "parental responsibility" for the child(ren) have consented to the change of name. We will draft such a letter for you to sign and return by freepost as part of the ChangeName service. In addition to the above, you will also need the child's consent to a change of name if the child is 16 or 17 years old. An 18 year old is an adult in the eyes of the law, and can themselves apply for their own name to be changed without requiring consent. Parental Responsibility This is a term given to a person who has the legal responsibility, and the powers that go with it, for looking after a child (who is under the age of eighteen). A person who has parental responsibility for a child will be held accountable for the care and welfare of that child and, as such, would have to be consulted, and their consent obtained before that child's name may be changed. Generally speaking, a child's mother is automatically granted parental responsibility; as are adoptive parents. Natural fathers are only entitled to responsibility if they were married to the mother at the time of birth (time of conception in Scotland) or subsequently, regardless of whether they are mentioned as the father on the child's birth certificate.